City Council

Minutes Town of Vermont Board Meeting October 14, 2024 Vermont Town Hall 4017 County Rd JJ, Black Earth WI 53515 7:00 P.M. To Join the meeting by phone: +1 347-896-0991 PIN: 481 262 925# In attendance Karen Carlock , Kirk Lynch, Alex McKenzie , Doug Meier, Nick Balster 1. Approval of agenda Karen called the meeting to order at 7:00. Katie certified that the meeting was posted according to statute on the door of town hall, on the website and emailed to subscribers. Doug made a motion to approve the agenda. Motion carried 5-0 2. Approval of September minutes Kirk made a motion to approve the September meeting minutes. Motion carried 5-0 3. Citizens’ Input (Public Comment is limited to 5 minutes per person) Barbara Borns on Union Valley stopped by to share the latest newsletter from the Black Earth Creek Watershed and to invite the public to the picnic next Saturday. She mentioned the issue with the invasive mud snails, but there is hope that the population has gotten so large that it has crashed. Karen asked about the creek monitoring. 4. Treasurer’s report Karen made a motion to postpone the treasurer's report until after item 14. Motion carried 5-0 The town currently has balances of $429,336 combined between all accounts. We have one more transportation aid deposit and shared revenue from Act 12, in November. 5. Clerk’s report We paid this month for the salt and sand and you will see a budget amendment for that later in the meeting. Prices have increased, however it was an oversight in last year's budget to not bring that amount back in line with historic levels after having a reduced budget due to excess inventory a few years ago. The clerk attended the WTA conference early this month and picked up some interesting tips. The board should consider not making motions to approve the clerk and treasurer reports and this could be taken, legally, to imply that the board has verified the information presented as correct and accurate. The training the clerk attended on alcohol licensing would lead her to suggest that the board should increase the cost for operators licenses to match the state cost, and that also the board should be running background checks on those operators before issuing the licenses. The clerk suggested the board continue issuing them annually and charge $100 each. In regards to board compensation, that can be approved at any town meeting, such as the budget meeting, however it must be approved before nomination papers are filed (in December) and cannot take effect mid-term, so if the board wanted to increase board meeting per diem  to match planning commission per diem it would apply in April only to the newly elected or reelected board members. Also, appointed clerks and treasurers can only be appointed for terms of 3 years at a time. Katie Zelle has been here since April 2019, so needs to be reappointed. We had two permits for new single family homes this month, for 4358 Blue Mounds Trail and 4786 Old Indian Trail. We have sent out 130 absentee ballots so far. 6. Payment of bills Doug made a motion to pay the bills. Motion passed 5-0 7. Patrolman Report, Mt. Horeb Fire Department, Black Earth Fire District and District 1 EMS Reports The salt is in the shed and the mowing is almost all done. Jack has been helping Blue Mounds with potholes. Taking the broom off tomorrow and taking that to Mazo for storage and will start putting the plow stuff on. Jack mentioned the blacktop at the end of the Moyer driveway on Stanfield Road will be an issue with the plowing. The budget for MHFD did pass but final budget numbers are not actually available. Black Earth Fire has passed their budget as well. 8. Mount Horeb School District referendum presentation Steve Salerno, superintendent of Mount Horeb schools presented on the referendum request for facility needs. 9. Discussion regarding potential turn-around area for Kelliher Road Marc Brody came to talk about his thoughts on the turn around area at the end of Kelliher Road. One factor is that Marc would like to have the turn around farther from his house for increased safety and privacy. Karen acknowledged the concerns and stated that her primary concern is that the town goes through a process that is consistent with what could be done for any landowner. Several board members agreed that the cost sharing needed to me a set amount and not a percentage. Nick pointed out that the area that would need to be dug out could well be rock. Marc will continue working on his planning. 10. Consideration and possible approval to amend Town Government Ordinance to eliminate text listing topics for meeting agendas due to lack of specificity in the list The town attorney suggested striking the list of agenda items from the ordinance, along with a few other minor changes. Kirk made a motion to approve the amendments to the ordinance as drafted. Motion carried 5-0. Katie will do the ordinance summary and footnote, then update the website. 11. Consideration and possible action regarding land purchase adjacent to Town Hall Kirk confirmed with the landowner about the need for a CSM and there are additional costs associated with that. It takes the total expense to more like 20k to acquire the  land. The board is concerned with the additional expense. The board will bring this back to the town at the budget meeting and see what they would like to do. 12. Consideration and possible approval of next steps for interviewing and hiring back-up patrolman Kirk spoke with Andy Fardy and Jack has worked with him in the past. He is comfortable with the plow schedule. Karen made a motion to offer Andy Fardy the position. Katie will connect with him to have him fill in paperwork for employment. Motion carried 5-0. 13. Consideration and possible approval of expense up to $2K for lift to trim trees Kirk made a motion to approve the expense of up to two thousand dollars to rent the lift to trim trees. Motion carried 5-0. 14. Consideration and possible action regarding turn-arounds on dead-ends including letter to all property owners on dead-end roads, decision regarding survey budgeting and total cap on cost-sharing and identification of initial 4 turn-arounds to address in 2024 as well as survey for Woodchuck Crossing Discussion continues about what all needs to be included in the letter. Nick and Karen will ride with Jack to look at Thumper, Kremerl, Broderick and a few other roads. On the Woodchuck crossing issue, the town will do the survey to determine where the road right of way lies. The landowner will pay for the survey if they are wrong. 15. 2024 Budget Amendments for additional culverts and sand/salt purchase Doug made a motion to approve the budget amendment. Motion carried 5-0. 16. 2025 draft budget and Reserve discussion as well as setting date for Public Budget Hearing The board needs additional time to get public safety and revenue numbers and will work again in November. Budget hearing will be November 18 17. Agenda items for November Reappointments budget 18.Adjournment Nick made a motion to adjourn. Motion carried 5-0. Meeting adjourned at 10:21 The Town Board’s agenda includes a period for public comments. That period, which is not mandated by state law, is offered to permit orderly and civil discussion of Town public business and matters. During the remainder of the Town Board meeting, persons other than Board members and Town officers are permitted to speak only if recognized by the Chair. Public comment may address any matter pertaining to Town, but must not be repetitive, involve personal attacks, profanity, or disruptive comments. The Chair may rule any person out of order and terminate their comment period. By adhering to these principles, we aim to ensure productive and fair discussions while respecting the rights of all to be heard. We appreciate active engagement and encourage participation in the governance of our wonderful Town of Vermont.